I’ve mentioned before that one of the big purchases we will be making once our debt is paid off is a second vehicle for me. Right now we’re a one vehicle family and it mostly works. There are some inconveniences, like me being off every Monday and being stuck at home rather than attempting more out-of-house productivity, but we make it work. Especially when we’re talking money savings by eliminating the associated costs with a second vehicle. But the time will come we will eventually need one.

When we move to a house even more outside of the city, I will need a vehicle to get to work. Right now my husband is able to drive me to a public transit terminal and I commute that way, but given the probable location of house #2, this will no longer be an option. We will also likely have more children and with both parents working full-time in opposite ends of the city, a second vehicle will be necessary to coordinate our lives (even when debt is paid off I have no aspirations of not working in my chosen career).

We’ve established that we need a second vehicle but aren’t sure what to buy.

Come vehicle #2 purchase time, we will have a nine-year-old crossover, who to this moment in time, has served us very well. Our second vehicle purchase will either include an older used car for myself, keeping current vehicle. A new(ish) truck for my husband (living in country he wants a pick-up) as well as a used car for me to get around town in (trading in our current vehicle) or keep current vehicle until she dies and get new car for me.

While I think my husband is hopeful we go with option #2 (new truck for him and a complimenting a car for me) I don’t foresee us trading in a paid-off vehicle and having the funds to buy two new vehicles. We will more likely keep the current vehicle (pending no major issues) and get a new(ish) car for me. Then start saving for hubby’s truck.

I’ve driven older used cars. My first was an old Corolla that I loved. Though I was pretty lucky not needing too much major work, I definitely have more peace of mind with our current vehicle which we bought brand new. Though I probably wouldn’t go the brand-new route I will likely buy a reliable car that is within a year old, with a warranty.

My sister-in-law has a new Hyundai Elantra and I love it. It’s the exact size car I’d be looking for. Not huge like a full-sized sedan (I grew up in a Camry house) but big enough that I could get groceries while having a car seat (or two) in the back seat. I’m short so I definitely want a car as my own to make it easier to put kids in and out of. I have a hell of a time now with our current vehicle, one of my only complaints and it has nothing to do with the vehicle per se.

We still have a few years (probably three to four) before we make this purchase but I’m constantly doing my homework on different vehicles and checking out what friends and family have to maintain my list of contenders.

Comments

We are a one car family, too, and sometimes it can be tricky to coordinate, but it mostly works. We have an 11 year old car and plan to drive it until it dies, even when we get a second vehicle. I think we are looking at getting a smaller SUV (within the next year) for our family vehicle and the current car will be my husband’s to-and-from work car. We’ve got to get the debt taken care of first!Momager recently posted..The Best Laid Plans

We have a second car….but due to how our life has unrolled over the last few years I wonder if we really need it. Because of where my wife’s job is (down town in our city) I drive her and pick her up so she doesn’t have to worry about parking. But there are still the occasional needs for that second car…just enough to keep me from selling it. Travis @Debtchronicles recently posted..Is This The Year I Pay Someone To Do My Taxes?

We’re a one car household, and I fully intend on staying that way. We get by in this rural area because we have lots of family members around, and I only work ten minutes from home. I never plan on buying a second car, because I hate driving and want to do less of it, not more. If I ever move back the city, I’d rather spend the extra money on living closer to public transit, instead of owning two vehicles.Jordann recently posted..What Can an Average Income Buy?

We’re a one car household, but we live in the city which makes it much more feasible. There are inconveniences with having one car though, like when I need to be out of town for client meetings. My husband takes public transportation when that happens, but he works in the suburbs and it takes forever and costs more than if he drove to get to work.

I hate driving so we’ll probably stay a one car family for as long as it makes sense (i.e. working in opposite ends of town, with no to little public transportation options would not make sense)

We have two cars, but live in an area where the public transit is almost non-existent. I used to have a Honda Civic, and when we “upgraded” to a RAV4, I found it a *lot* easier to get kiddo in and out of the RAV since it sat up a bit higher. Instead of having to bend over while holding a kid, I could just lift with my legs and put her right in the car seat.Mom @ Three is Plenty recently posted..Zip-top Bag Replacements

We just recently picked up our second car, a 2011 Honda CRV. If you don’t mind buying used, what we noticed was that there were many 2011 cars on the market due to the large amount of 3 year leases that are finishing. We were able to find plenty of options for the exact car we wanted, and most of them had low mileage, again because many of the leases have mileage caps.Carlos @ TheFrugalWeds recently posted..Personal Finance Advice for my 20-year old Self